The Last Child
by Shadowngel
Summary: Ranma 1/2-Evanglion Crossover: Ranma makes it into Nerv Security but realizes one very very imporant mistake: He can't get out!!
1. Part 1: Bottle Caps

The Last Child  
Shadow@ngel  
superpinay@hotmail.com  
_________________________________________

This is one of those challenge fics where you only have an hour to write a single   
fic. Here's the second draft. Anyway, I know that Ranma is only fourteen and he learns the moves when he's sixteen, but in this fic, he already knows. K? well, I got some posts that people wanted me to continue this … so …. I did. =).  
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Chapter 1:

Part 1- Bottle Caps

He closed the door behind him. He typed in the alarm code and the entrance locked behind him. With a sigh, he leaned against the door, the cold surface pressing against his back.

He hoped the others didn't see him break away from the tour group. He let out the breath he was holding and smiled, letting out a sharp laugh as he stepped toward the controls.

Ranma didn't take the business seriously. He was originally from an outside organization, not in line with the government. Very excusive and special. Considering they consisted of forty-two persons. So, being only fourteen years old ,and still a teenager, he rarely took on missions. And for good reason: previous missions ended in disaster. This had been his second chance. Without a second thought he took it..

His former commander, had sent him the plans and the outline of the building. It pointed out where the cameras, and security systems were. It noted where the guards were, but they were out on patrol and he was warned to be careful. (_Was_ is right...) he thought. 'Was' meaning it was only days after she had given the plans to him that she was shot simultaneously in the back.

A minute of silence passed for his fallen comrade and he took out the papers to sort through.

"Paaaaaaage… 34, here it is. The Control Panel…" he said. He compared the picture on the page to the panel and found that they were identical.

On the bottom right corner, there was a switch panel. He took out a metal object and pried it open carefully.

"Where's the red wire? There are only … sixteen, seventeen, eighteen wires. Oh there it is," He grabbed it and tore it apart, the power going off shortly. He cut another wire and connected them together. The power was restored, but the control room was a bit dimmer than before. He pulled out a needle with a connector attached to it. He paused a moment to think something over. (I wonder if I should have accepted it. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Its probably be better to just ditch this place) He reached further into the opening and felt around inside.

(Nah.) But he couldn't help feel a little foolish about not considering the dangers of the mission. He noticed a small hole and inserted the needle inside. From small pack tied around his waist, he took out what looked like a miniature keypad the size of his palm. He pressed the buttons and the small screen on it began to blink.

"Okay, camera's off," He stood up and Ranma switched one of the buttons on, and the shades slowly opened, revealing a window. Beside it, a door opened, leading into the larger room with the Eva. He went in the door and gasped at the sight. The mech was even bigger than he had thought it to be! Ranma shook his head. He suddenly recalled why he was there. He wanted to get out as soon as possible. He had learned a long time ago that the longer he stayed in one place, the more he would be in danger. He stepped up to the platform and took out his camera. He held it up and waited for it to adjust. He set it down as it snapped on its own. 

The model was more than he hoped for. It was pure white except for the chest-plate, the hands, and the legs which were black.

"Wait til' Ryouga gets a load of this!" Ryouga was part of it too. The same committee and organization. He was supposed to assist him, but had mysteriously disappeared five minutes before he went in. He stood up and began walking back toward the exit. He paused a moment and looked to his left. There was a where a door that said *Eva Pilots Only!!*. 

He smirked and jogged over to it, bringing the camera. Ranma felt behind his ear and switched the small device on. It was one of the gadgets he got to fool around with while he was there. It was a transmitter, camera, and communicator all in one.

"What code number," he asked into the object.

Floor 54? Oh! It's 542ru30d2. He nodded and typed it into the keypad. The door slid open on its own. Ranma looked around and saw the pilot suits.

"Bingo," he said. He put down his camera and grabbed one of the suits from the hooks. After looking over it, he threw off his clothes and slipped one on. He hadn't known what possessed himself to do so, but he kept the suit on anyway. He accidentally kicked something with his foot. He picked up the box and opened it. There were two objects. He recognized them as the devices that they wore on their heads. He slipped them on carefully. They felt awkward at first, but he got used to it.

He stepped out of the room and turned off the light. Maybe he could keep the suit as a souvenir. It would be proof to Ryouga that he had actually been there, seeing as he had ditched the whole mission. He'd have the privellege of being teased by him for years to come.

He knew he'd get in big trouble and get demoted or something, but he didn't care. Just being able to go there and see the new Eva was good enough.

Ranma what are you doing? asked a voice. He tapped the transmitter behind his ear.

"Nothing," he said.

Ranma put the suit back

"Why?"

You baka. You are going to get into so much trouble!

"Akane, calm down. What's the worst that could happen. It's not like I've gotten caught before!"

Well remember the time you tripped the alarm system? 

"You are SO uncute!" he said.

What if commander Hinako finds out about this? You'll be fired! _I'll be fired!_

"Akane, I know what I'm doing!"

Suuure. And what about the time you-

"Akaaaneeee…" he said.

Fine then! Get us into trouble! If anyone finds out what you're doing, it's all your fault

"Whatever…" Ranma took one last look at the Eva. He ran into the control room and pulled a lever. Ranma looked through the window. Nothing happened.

"Hey- isn't this supposed to open the thing?" he asked himself.

The entry's in the back. Behind it should be a plug.

"Oh yeah," said Ranma.

Remember- only a few shots, then download the scan files. After that, it's done. Got it?

"How do I get inside?" he asked.

There's some kind of… capsule… that should react and bring you in there or something, I dunno. Just try something. He nodded and went behind the back. He saw the capsule thing Akane was talking about, and he stood there a moment, just trying to figure it out how it worked. After a series of attempts, he managed to actually get inside.

Okay, THAT took a few hours

"Hey- I'd like to see a gorilla like you do it faster!" he whispered. He heard a 'hmph' sound emit from the com. With a smirk, he took a few shots of the inside before he took out the connector again and placed it into one of the sockets.

"You get the shots Akane? How's that?" he asked.

I am just receiving the files over the connection right… about… now. Yeah I got em'.He sighed and flipped through the pages. He wanted to download the make-up of the technology. As he searched through he leaned back, he leaned back, accidentally sitting on the pad. A loud noise could be heard and the plug shut closed behind him.

"Oh man! What' ve I done!" he cried. "I'm gonna get caught for sure!" Ranma grabbed the pad and searched through the pages. Outside, an alarm sounded. Ranma jerked his head up.

A woman's voice went over the intercom.

"Attention all NERV personnel: Angel Approaching. Report to appointed posts." A sweat droplet appeared on his forehead.

"Oh man! Not now!" he hissed to himself. 

A light on the handle blinked and a voice could be heard.

"Shinji? Is that you? How'd you get here so fast? Why are you in the new model?"

"Uh... I uh..." Ranma said.

"Oh nevermind. Are you ready?" asked the woman.

"Ready for wh-" Then a fluid began flooding the cockpit.

"That's weird, LCL shouldn't start filling the cockpit until…" The voice was cut off. Ranma began choking on the fluid. Ranma's eyes widened as he turned female. A few moments time passed and his breath suddenly rushed out of his lungs, the liquid filling his mouth. He almost expected everything to disappear and fade away from lack of breath, but he was still conscious. 

It took him a moment to realize it...he was breathing water! It may have tasted horrible, but it he was still amazed. He was never told about anything like this happening in the cockpit during his mission breifing. Probably because he was never supposed to go into the cockpit, but still... 

She saw the camera floating by.

(Great! It's ruined!)

"What is this?" Ran-chan asked herself.

"Hey! Who is this!!"

"Uh..."

"This isn't Shinji- Who ar-," The girl didn't have time to finish her sentence. Ranma felt herself scrunch down in her seat. The Eva was launching.

"Who flipped the launch switch! Who flipped the switch!- Who is that! He's not supposed to be here. Get that boy out of here!!!- Come get me!" Ranma heard a commotion going on in the control room. (Is Ryouga inside the control room? Oh Ryouga, you numbskull!!! He must've been the one who pressed the launch button. For all I know he probably did it on purpose!) she thought. Then she felt pressure and she watched the control room leave her line of sight.

"Ryooooooooouuuugaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!" she cried.

"Who the hell is this!" Ran-chan panicked and just blurted out,

"Ranko Saotome... I uh mean... Chikusho!" Ranko slapped herself on the head.

"How did you get in here!" cried the voice.

"I.. uh..."

"I said, how did you get in here!

"Um... I..."

"Stop that!"

"..." Ran-chan felt the Eva come to a stop.

"We'll have to live with this for now... We can't have a recall. It's too late," said the voice. "I'm Misato. Now listen. This Eva is attached to your nerves. Understand?" Ran-chan nodded. Ran-chan felt a strange sensation in her head.

"Okay that's a start. The EVA nodded. Now, try to walk. Take one step at a time," Misato said to her.

"How!?" she said.

"Concentrate," Misato said. Ran-chan closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists.

"Why won't it WALK!" she cried. She slammed her fist down on the seat. The Eva began shaking.

"It worked? It worked!" she whispered. Then much louder, "Walk…" She felt it move. "Step…" She lost the feeling at that moment. "Walk," but it didn't move.

"What the-?" asked Ran-chan.

"Focus, Ranko," Misato advised. (Come on, Baby. Just walk. You're part - uh- living right? That means you can understand me, right? Walk for me…) Ran-chan thought. If it was attached to his nervous system, then it must know what he was thinking.

"Walk," she said.

"Good. Now- Wait- what are you doing?" she screamed. Ran-chan ignored her. Piloting was easier than she thought. She focused her mind even harder. So hard that a blue aura began to appear around her.

"I'm running," Ran-chan whispered. Ran-chan looked up at the screen and saw an Angel right in front of her.

"AAH!!" she cried. She instinctively threw a punch and felt the mech move. As she opened her eyes, the screen showed the Eva's arm in front of her, in the very position her own was. She bent her fingers. A few seconds later, the mech's fingers moved. The reaction was late, but just the sensation of control caused her to jerk in her seat.

"Watch out!" Misato said. Ranma looked up and saw the Angel grab the chest-plate. Ran-chain felt a pain sear through her body like a wave of electricity.

"Augh!" she said. Ran-chan pictured the Eva in her head giving the angel in front of it a round house kick. She opened her eyes, and saw it doing it much like she pictured it. The Angel released its grip. The pain eased and Ran-chan sighed.

The Angel shot a blast at Ran-chan. (So you wanna play with fire, eh? Well you're gonna get burned!) Ran-chan formed her own hands in a ball for the counter attack and said,

"Mouko Takabisha!" Ran-chan waited… and waited…

"It's not workiiinnnggg!!!!" she cried. The blast slammed into the Eva, sending it flying back. (I guess the Eva doesn't know HOW to make chi...) Ran-chan thought.

"OOW!" Ran-chan howled.

"It's fine, it's fine. Just get up..."

"Okay...," said Ran-chan. But before she could move, a shadow seemed to fly straight out of the sun and slammed into the EVA, ripping away at the abdomen. The angel had leaped into the air, but the rays of the sun had blinded her. (Damnit!) she thought, before the pain came.

"MIISSAATOO!!" Ran-chan cried. She grabbed what looked like the Angel's neck and threw it off. It crashed into a nearby building sending debris flying every which way.

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!!!" The Eva jumped up and let loose a flurry of punches that managed to keep up with Ran-chan's. 

"It's getting so hot!"

"You're overheating the Eva, you IDIOT!!!" The Angel stumbled back.

"Watch out for the umbilical cord! The cord!" Misato said. Ran-chan looked down and saw the cord tightly wrapped around its ankle. Ran-chan stepped forward, but found the ground rushing up at her, as well as the angel that stood not far ahead of her. She felt her head collide with the Angel's chest. Enraged, The Angel clawed at the head. Ran-chan grabbed her forehead, screaming in pain.

"Ranko! You have to run. The new model is still being tested. - Should Shinji go in? - Just get out, Ranko!!" The creature reached for the neck. Ran-chan saw it coming too late.

"I… can't breathe!" Ranko thrashed around, feeling the grip of its fingers and the sharpness of its claws. Somehow, her thrashing causing it to release its grip. She gasped for air, the whole world spinning. She dizzily pushed herself to her feet.

"Come on! Mouko Takabisha!" It still didn't work.

"DAMMIT!" Ran-chan said. She focused her anger and thrust her arm forward as hard as she could. 

The organ cracked. Ran-chan saw this and she did it again and again and again.

Soon, the punched became a chant in her mind, reaching a peak at the final blow. 

(Hit...hit..hit.hithithithithithithit...HIT!) She focused her aura and felt it drain away into the 'mind' of the Eva. She felt something inside her. It was as if someone had just flicked on the light switch and she could see. The feeling was familiar. He felt it every time he learned a new technique. The ecstatic feeling or triumph, but the thing was... It was from the Eva, not Ran-chan. 

She managed to see out of the corner of her eyes, the hand of the Eva glowing a bright blue. Upon seeing this, a split second passed as she recalled the lecture she received before accepting his… her mission. ("An Eva is alive. It learns, and the stronger the pilot's mind… the stronger the Eva becomes. It was once said that a pilot took four years just to get the Eva moving. The Eva is alive, again I say, it chooses who will pilot it. For this reason, the personnel at NERV look for many years, just for the right pilot.)

Then, she returned from her memory, to find a startling reality. Everything seemed to freeze. Her eyes widened as the organ break up into a delicate patterns of cracks and slits before exploding in a sea of crystals. Shards of it collided into the armor and pierced the first layer. The Angel fell. It didn't get up. Ran-chan stared blankly at the screen. 

Her heart beats seemed to drum loudly in her chest. They almost seemed like they were screaming.

"Ranko... are you there? Are you okay?" asked Misato. Ran-chan didn't answer. All she felt was pain. Pain in her chest, pain in her stomach, pain in her head and arms...

"Ranko... talk back to me," said Misato. Ran-chan looked at her hands. She thought she saw blood coming from them, but it was only her imagination. She was hallucinating- Just great...

"Talk to me, Ranko. Are you okay?" she asked.

"RANKO!!" she cried. "Check her life-signs. Is she alive? -yes. She's alive why?- well she's not responding.." She listened to the conversation between Misato and another commander. Ran-chan felt the urge to cry. (I'm not going to cry. I cant…) His female emotions overcame her and tears began to flow from her eyes. They were lost in the LCL. The Eva fell forward and hit the ground.

"Misato?"

"Ranko! Thank God you're okay!"

"Misato?"

"Yes?"

"How could Shinji survive this?" asked Ran-chan silently.

"I'm not sure he does," Misato replied... Silence...

Ran-chan closed her eyes. She hung her head and the last things she heard were the mechanical noises of the rescue units, rushing to get her out of the mech.

Well? Whadda ya think? Hey- if you're going to write something like this in an hour... this is as good as my fics will get! No matter how bad u think it is, just review! ^_^. 


	2. Part 2: Tightrope Walker

The Last Child 2  
Shadow@ngel  
superpinay@hotmail.com  
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Here's the second part to my stupid li'l challenge fic. I hope you're enjoying it. ^_^. Read on! Disclaimer: yada ydaddaaaa legal junk la yadadada yada rights....respective blah blah blah....um ... yeah. you get the point.   
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> > Chapter 1:  
Part 2- Tightrope Walker

Beep…  
Beep…  
Beep…  
Beep…  
Beep…  
Beep…  


She stirred in the bed, tossing and turning. The steady rhythm slowly driving her insane…

She jerked up screaming. She didn't stop until a hand rested on her shoulder. Her breathing erratic and sweat covered her forehead, she whipped her head around, to look at her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she said, panic evident in her tone. Louder this time, "Where am I!?" All around her, there were machines and monitors.

"Ranko, it's okay. You're at NERV's hospital wing," said Misato. "We've got some questions to ask you."

"Where is she?" asked a male voice from outside in the hall. Another replied,

"The girl? This way sir." Ran-chan snapped to attention. "It's extraordinary! Well, as far as we know, she hasn't had any experience in piloting. Yet her reflexes and sync ratio are amazing." it continued on about how odd it was for her to use it so well. (I've gotta get out'a here!) she thought. She jumped off the bed, ripping out the I.V. from her wrist. She grabbed the wristband and tore it off, starting out the door at a full sprint.

"Ranko, wait!" Misato cried. "We're not going to hurt you!" (Yeah right! If they find out about Hinako and the others, we're toast!) she thought. She ran out the door, shoving past the two people in front of her. She sprinted out into the corridors and ran past the two patrol officers waiting outside the door.

Misato, hot on her trail, pointed at her and yelled,

"STOP HER!"

"Hey Akane!" Ran-chan whispered. She felt for the transistor behind her ear. It was still there but it must've short-circuited in the LCL. So did all her equipment, including the camera. Far into the technology era, and things still get affected by water or anything close to it. (Including me!) he thought.

Ran-chan disconnected the transistor and placed it in her palm. She shook

it and a some sparks flew out from it. She tried again.

"Akane!" It answered back, but there was a lot of static. It came out just clear enough for her to understand. But at least it worked.

Ranma! Y----- kay! Whe-------- been?

"I'm in NERV's hospital. I'm inside the industrial-," she stopped. Four more officers were waiting in her path.

"Outta my way!" Ran-chan cried. She jumped at them, her leg outstretched.

She hit one, and flipped the other. She tripped the third and hit the last one. As soon as the fourth hit the floor, she ran into an entryway to a lab.

"Akane! I need to get out of here! Which way do I go!"

Go back out. The lab is a dead end

"There are too many guards Akane! I'll never make it out!"

Just do it! I've seen you----------- so---- quit now!

"Okaaay, whatever you say, Akane!" she ran back out and slammed into a doctor. He hit the wall, and glared at her. "Now where!"

Go straight ahead and take a left at the next ---------- then take -------- 

"WHAT!?" Stop right there. Take a -----ft! "Left?" YES!

"But it's coded!" Ran-chan said. She tried ramming the door. "What's the code! And hurry! They're coming!"

967-f7shf92k… and the last few is…

"HURRY!"

329fh2! Ran-chan managed to press it in without messing up. It still didn't open the lock.

"What now!"

Press ENTER you dolt! Ran-chan practically broke the keypad as she pressed the last one. The lock shifted and the door swung open, but just as she began another stride, someone grabbed her elbow. She swung her arm around in defense and hit the person. Unfortunately, they managed to insert a syringe in her hip.

The nurse fell to the floor as her hand collided with her cheek bone.

Ran-chan grabbed the needle and took it out. She continued on.

Ranma- what -------appened?

"Just forget it! Am I almost out?" she asked.

Half way there, Ranma! Just hang ----- there!

"Where to, Akane!"

> > … "Akane?"

-------- di-------run to----- 

"AKANE!!!!" she cried. There was nothing but static. It looked like she was going to have to chance it and find her way out. If she found the lobby, she would be home free, but she had no idea of where she was in the first place. 

Just then, a wave of nausia hit her. The chemical was affecting her body already. She nearly lost balance, and leaned up against the wall. She slid down to her knees, but with determination, she managed to get up and start running again. Her vision began to blur and she lost her coordination.

She dropped the transistor.

-------- you there? Ranm---- ? --a!!! there was a long pause.

Back at the base, Akane panicked and stood up from her post. She frantically looked all around and at the screen. The device, now on the floor, showed her nothing but the feet of several people running after someone. She saw a girl drop to the floor ahead of the transistor, and she cried out when she realized who it was…

"RRRRRAAAAAANNNNNMAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

********

"WHAT!?" cried Hinako.

"Please tell me you are joking! Even if you are I'm still going to kill you!" she said. Akane nodded.

"Commander, its not a joke! He didn't make it out of the hospital. He must've been weakened by battling in the Eva," she said. Then she slapped her hand over her mouth. (oops…) she thought.

"HE DID WHAT!?!?!?" she cried. (Just maybe… I shouldn't have mentioned that). Akane winced at the tone of Hinako's voice. She only had that tone of voice when she was extremely mad, and she didn't have to know this to see just how angry she was.

"Hinako, what are we going to do?" asked Akane.

"I don't know. But how could he do this! How could he so stupid as to be dressing up in the suit and actually trying to… to….drive that thing!" Akane was about to correct her that the more suitable term was 'piloting', but she held her tongue. Hinanko was on the verge of breaking down as it was.

"How could he do this to me!"

"Commander? What about Ranma?" asked Akane. Hinako shook her head.

"I don't know Akane, give me some time to think," she walked out of the room, the tapping of her heels on the marble echoing throughout the room. Akane relaxed and put her hand on her forehead. How COULD Ranma do this to them? How stupid was he? (That Baka!) she thought as she pursed her lips.

Ryouga walked in just as Hinako accidentally bumped into him. Ryouga looked thoughtfully at Hinako before turning back to Akane and asking,

"What's wrong with HER?"

"Ranma," said Akane.

"What about Ranma? asked Ryouga.

"He didn't make it out," she replied.

"WHAT!? I thought he… but when I … he is still… he didn't make it?" Ryouga sweat dropped. (it's all my fault!) He thought. His stupid navigational problems got him lost right before they went in. And then, right when thing couldn't get worse, he found himself in the control room. It was not what he had wanted. Worse yet, he had tripped on something and hit the console. Who knew what buttons he had triggered. Plus he had also accidentally ripped some cord on the way in. 

"Yeah. And I'm worried abou- that he'll spill about us," said Akane.

"Tomboy no need worry. Ranma not break that easy," Shampoo walked in, writing on a clipboard. They turned their heads. Shampoo pulled out the pen in her shirt's pocket, and looked up to them. The end of Akane's mouth twitched. Shampoo walked past the two and turned on the console.

"Shampoo, how do you know he won't just blurt it all out like all the other times his big mouth got us into trouble?" asked Ryouga. Shampoo ignored him and just jotted down more notes.

"How can you be so sure, Shampoo?" asked Akane.

"How long you know husband?" asked Shampoo.

"Well… uh… 11 years…," said Akane. "Not counting the years he was out on that STUPID training trip."

"Move over. It Shampoo's shift now," she simply replied. Akane growled as she got up out of the chair. She never did like Shampoo. She was always on her back about this and that. She never gave her any slack.

"But just what are we going to do about Ranma? We can't just leave him there!" said Akane.

"Yeah…," Shampoo stood up from her chair. She put down her glasses and her lab-jacket.

"Shampoo?"

"Hinako not like this, but…" Akane and Ryouga waited anxiously for her answer.

"Akane find 1 more worker. Then group go, two by two," Shampoo said. Akane nodded at Shampoo and ran out of the room. As a higher ranker, she was responsible. Without the approval of Hinako harbored bad results. Nothing went on behind Hinako's back. It wouldn't be long before she would find out, but by then they'd be in and out of the hospital before anything would be done about it. If she found out they'd be discharged of their status.

Shampoo smiled. IF…

********

"He's coming to…," said a female voice.

"Now. Young lady, this time you may not leave. We have some things to ask you," said a man's voice. Ran-chan opened her eyes. She was in a confined room with a single door. On the wall to her left, there was a mirror. No doubt there were faces behind watching her. Just above her head was a small microphone of some kind, recording everything she would say. And lastly, her arms were strapped down by some buckles preventing anything she was going to try.

Ahead of her, sat two people. Ran-chan presumed the girl was Misato, and that the man was head of NERV. But it was only a hunch. It was just the aura that hovered around him.

"Hello. My name is Gendou. I will be asking you about some things. I'm hoping that you'll answer honestly. It's the best that you can do. What …is …your…name?" he asked. Ranko lifted her head and stared at him with her aqua-colored eyes.

"I already told… her," Ranko stared at Misato. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"I don't care. What is you name?" asked Gendou.

"My name is Tuxedo Kamen," said Ranko, smiling coldly. Gendou's eye

twitched slightly. "Your name," Gendou said, the words strained slightly.

"Her name is Ranko Saotome…. Sir," said Misato. Gendou nodded, but never took her gaze away from Ran-chan. "How old are you?" He asked.

"82," she muttered.

"YOUR AGE, young lady," he said.

"She's looks fourteen, sir," Misato replied.

"I was not asking you," He turned back to Ranko, "How old are you."

"You should listen to the lady. She seems to know more about me than I do," said Ran-chan in a monotonous voice.

"Young Lady, Your AGE," he said loudly.

"Fourteen," she said.

"How did you get inside the Eva Cage?" he asked.

"Teleporter," she said.

"It appeared that she was with the tour group. She broke away and used this…" Misato lifted a device into the light and onto the table. It was the keypad and the connector. Ran-chan hesitated. She felt a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.

"…to get into the Control Room," Misato watched closely for a reaction from her. She didn't get one. Gendou stood up from his chair and began pacing the short distance from one side of the room to the other.

"You see, Ranko. Every Eva pilot must train before they are successfully able to control the Eva as well as you have. However, you have received no training as far as we have known. Have you been trained to use the Eva?" he asked. Ran-chan just laughed. Gendou walked up to the desk and slammed his hands down on it.

"Were you trained?" he asked. Ran-chan looked him in the eye and mouthed the word "No".

"Then how were you able to control the EVA so easily?!"

"The truth is…," she whispered. She noticed them both lean forward slightly. She leaned forward as well, until her face was inches from theirs. Her smile grew into a chilling sneer.

"I don't know," she slowly eased back unto her chair and lowered her head, giving them her icy gaze. No more questions were answered.

********

"Did you remember yesterday's attack?" asked a student behind Shinji. He turned his head around and saw the two students engage in a conversation.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I heard that it was not one of NERV's pilots steering that thing!"

"You know what I heard? I heard it was a civilian!" A few gasps could be heard around the room. Shinji narrowed his eyes. Ranma was absent today. So was Ryouga and Ukyou.

(I wonder what the three of them could be doing?) thought Shinji. Shinji shook his head and tried focusing on class while they chatted behind him, but it was too distracting. Shinji looked to Touji, who sat beside him. He was giving him the same exact look. Shinji motioned to his computer. Touji nodded and began typing something on the keyboard. Shinji's laptop blinked once before a message appeared on it:

What's going on? Shinji hesitated.

I dunno he replied.

But have you noticed that Akane's been acting really strange lately?

Yeah I guess. Now that you mention it, she HAS been really quiet these days. You think something's wrong?

Yeah- I think so Shinji didn't know what to reply, but another message popped up.

Has Misato told you anything about the mystery pilot that used the new model, yesterday?

No, but I overheard Misato talking on the phone before school.

What'd she say? He just stared at the screen thinking of an answer.

Shinji- what'd she say? Shinji sighed.

She said Gendou was in a 'hype' because they pilot wasn't trained beforehand

No way the pilot could have done that without the training!

That's what I heard

That just cant be. Maybe you just heard wrong

Touji, I happened to be in the hall outside the kitchen when she said it

Okay fine. Let's say the pilot really didn't get any training. How the hell could he have piloted it so well? Shinji turned to him and shrugged.

And why didn't they use a joint operation with 02? Or 01?

I think she said that it was still being tested. It could've gone berserk and damaged the partner

But still. And how did the guy get past security anyhow?

It was a girl, Touji, a girl

A girl? Well then how did the GIRL get past security?

She didn't say

Well what now? Tuoji looked up from the screen and glanced at Shinji. The teacher cleared her throat and said,

"Class!" Shuffling could be heard behind the Shinji and Touji.

"This is not gossip time," he turned around. "And Mr. Ikari?"

"Yes?"

"The conversation with Touji is over." Shinji jerked up straight in his chair.

"Gomen nasai, Mitsuki-sensei!" He waited until she turned back to the blackboard before sending a message to Akane.

Akane? He glanced over at Akane. She jumped out of her chair abruptly. She had a shocked look on her face, but was mostly of surprise.

The teacher whipped around again. "Akane, what is it?"

"Uh, nothing…. Mitsuki-sensei," she said shakily. She fixed her skirt and sat down in her chair. She threw a look at Shinji.

What do you want? She replied on the computer. You scared the hell out of me.

Where's Ranma and Ryouga? And what about Ukyou? Is there something wrong with them?

Oh don't worry about it

But what's wrong then? Shinji looked puzzled. He hadn't typed that in. He heard some clicking sounds Touji's desk.

Who else is here beside me and Akane? Shinji asked.

This is Tuoji. I thought I might join in your conversation

Oh…

So Akane, what IS wrong? It was quite a while before Akane answered his question.

Ranma's having some problems at home It finally came up on his screen.

What problems? Touji managed to ask the question before him. There was yet another long pause.

Personal ones.

And what do you mean by PERSONAL, I might ask? Touji leaned back on his chair.

Akane? You still there? A private message from Tuoiji came on his computer.

/Private to Shinji/ From Touji / --She's lying

/Private to Touji/ From Shinji /--What makes you think that?

/Private to Shinji/ From Akane /-- Shinji? It's kind of personal. Can you tell him to back off? I knew you would understand. Thanks!

Private to Akane/ From Shinji /-- Is he having some kind of mental trauma? he asked.

Private to Shinji/ From Akane /-- You don't back off now, I swear you'll be sorry Shinji stared at his screen. (I swear you'll be.. sorry?)

/Private to Shinji/ From Touji /-- What's wrong. It looks like you jus' saw a ghost Shinji read this, and was about was about to reply, ' I think I got a death threat from Akane', but as he brought his finger toward ENTER, he hesitated. He deleted it and replied instead,

/Private to Touji/ From Shinji/-- Nothing. Everything's fine

  
  
  
  


As you can tell, I don't really think a whole lot about my stories. .. But review anyway. No matter how weird it wuz. REVIEW! Thanx.


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